Peanut Butter Smoothie

No mood to bake these days especially chiffon cake. I've failed on baking chiffon cake since last year December and I don't really know what's wrong. Looking back to those chiffon I've baked, and I don't feel there are my works. I've really disappointed to myself.

Well, to get myself a relaxing mind and forgot about the failure. I've made a drink to cool down my mind, banana and peanut butter smoothie. I've been making my homemade peanut butter for years and I found this recipe is really tasty. For the peanut butter, I simply roast some peanut then take off the skin. Blend it in a blender until it become a smooth peanut butter consistency. I didn't add sugar in it as I normally spread another layer of blackcurrant jam on my bread and the sweetness was just nice. For banana smoothie, I used 1 big ripe banana, 1/2 cup nonfat milk , 1/4 cup plain nonfat natural yogurt, 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Ahh... I feel much release after this smoothie. Take a break, I shall try the chiffon next time.

Seepla Vegetable Biriani - Entry for BloggerAid

Seepla Vegetable Biriani

14th November Update: Hot off the Press! Yea! The BloggerAid Cookbook is finally out. Here is the link.

Biryani or Biriani, is one of the most popular rice based dishes, popularized by Muslim merchants and travelers across the Middle East and South Asia. There are as many delicious adaptations as there are regions. For example, there are distinct differences between a Sindhi Biryani, a Bengali Biriyani, the Awadhi Biryani of Lucknow, or the famous Hyderabadi Biryani.

Of all the special Birianis, the one made by Rukmini from our native village Seeplaputhur, is the one we cherish most! Her dish is reminiscent of the delicious flavours and aromas of kitchens in deep interior Tamil Nadu. It is made of ingredients that are quite unusual for Biryanis! Suffice to say you would not find this kind of Biriani, anywhere in the world! We are naming this unique recipe ‘Seepla Vegetable Biriani’ after our village Seeplaputhur, and sending it for the BloggerAid Cookbook.

BloggerAid is a committed group of international food bloggers who have joined forces in raising awareness and funds for those suffering from hunger. The BloggerAid Cookbook will host a collection of original recipes by food bloggers, and is slated for release, later this year. Proceeds from the sale of this book will be given to the school-meals program, which is part of the World Food Program. A big thanks to, Ivy of Kopiaste, Giz of Equal Opportunity Kitchen , and Val of More Than Burnt Toast, who conceived the idea of BloggerAid and driving the initiative with much energy and passion!

Both Chitra Amma, and I tried this recipe at Bangalore and Sydney respectively, with local ingredients to test out proportions and so on. Both birianis turned out delicious – the vegetables and rice were cooked just right, and every grain had absorbed the yummy masalas!

You can see Chitra Amma’s Bangalore trial here.

And here is my Sydney trial ...

A note to Asha - Thanks for asking for this recipe, as it triggered us calling Rukmini and picking her brains on how she makes this dish! It was quite a revelation for us, but we are unable to share the recipe now, just in case it gets selected for the BloggerAid Cookbook! We will publish it once we know whether we made it to the Cookbook or not! :-))))

The coffee

The coffee mean so much to me. It's the most wonderful yet relaxing day I had in this land since my arrival. Thank you Lord for preparing such a lovely companion for me. I appreciate every single minutes of the sharing and kindness. It's unforgettable one! God bless you!